Get a read on our travels

Hi everyone,

We will be spending Xmas in Bangkok watching a muay-thai boxing match and getting a well deserved massage after the more than 60 hours spent on a bus during the past month (nope not complaining). If you feel like you haven’t had time to scout out what to read between those long days at work, after work cocktail parties and early morning jogging sessions (or late sleep-ins…) here are a few suggestions from two people who have a lot to of time to turn pages.

Chasing the Flame – Samantha Powers

This epic biography reads like a novel. It is for those who wish they paid more attention in history class or want a crash course on modern history. Through the life of Sergio Vieira de Mello, a Brazilian born, Sorbonne educated, UN diplomat, Samantha Powers take you through all the major conflict zones since the Vietnam War. From the personal accounts on this man’s qualities and faults, to his work in East Timor to Iraq, you’ll get a better understanding of the UN’s structure and internal politics.  While reading this book, we got a sense of the inherent contradiction of the organization’s founding principles: A mission statement to stay neutral while being composed of national representatives.  If the UN fails to do good, maybe we have to look to our own leaders for answers ...

This is a story of a man that gave his life in the defense of the principles he believed in. You can decide if you think it was worth it…

Race of a lifetime (Game Change) – John Heilemann & Mark Halperin

Another book that will keep you awake late through the night. Through hundreds of interviews with both parties’ candidates, the authors manage to recreate the excitement and intensity of the election for the 44^th president of the United States of America.

Full of behind the scene quotes from campaign staff, journalists and the candidates themselves this book gives a broad – and relatively fair – account of the run for the top job. Through the scandals and the debates it also gives a sense of the degree to which the American media can weigh on the beat of a campaign and its outcome…

A people’s history of the Vietnam War – Jonathan Neale

A fresh insight on the Vietnam War but much more than this. From the French colony era legacy to the civil rights movements of the 60’s and 70’s in the US this book puts what the Vietnamese call “the American War” into historical context with great depth.

Turn in turn through class, racial and political lenses the author delivers a powerful argument and sheds a new light on one of the events that greatly shaped US foreign policy until 9/11.

The World is Flat – Thomas Friedmann

Okay this is an intense read. But if you want an update on the new era’s technologies, business models and employability criteria this is the place to start. Over 600 (I read the 3.0 version…) pages on how the interconnected world we live in is changing the rules of engagement in business, politics as well as its impact on the local cultures that compose it. Sometimes a little detailed in his accounts on the geeky stuff, Friedmann illustrates his points very skillfully and explains why the western world in general and the US in particular are being overtaken by our new rivals.   He exits opening up on a very actual topic: the moralization of the forces that drive change in our economies.

The Bang Bang club – Greg Marinovich and Joao Silva

The subtitle on the cover reads: Snapshots from a Hidden War, and that’s precisely what the Hostel War in South African townships was during the early 90s.  Told from the perspective of war photographer and Pulitzer Prize winner, Greg Marinovich, the years after Mandela’s release from prison are described with heart, hope and torment.  I’d argue that the “hidden war” also refers to the personal conflict of those covering such gruesome events – the recurring question being: When do you stop being an observer and become a participant? 

And once you have read them or if you already have we always love to have your comments!

Have a great Christmas everyone